The Proposition to the Hero
by TheOtakuActress
Summary: Link is enjoying some well needed alone time when suddenly he's visited by someone he thought he'd never be able to see again. Prequel fic, I don't own Legend of Zelda or any of the characters used.


Soft grass, a warm breeze, and a nice touch of sunlight. It was exactly what Link, defender of the land of Hyrule, needed.

Softly laying on the earth, Link closed his eyes. He imagined a world, laying there in the wonderful grass. A world free of evil, free of plagues and villains. A world where he would be free to simply be friends with the Princess Zelda, not her hero.

He opened his eyes and sat up. What was he thinking? Zelda _was_ his friend, he had to protect her. No one else was destined for this. He was chosen by the goddesses for this job. But sometimes, it became so tiring….

The wind blew, making Link more relaxed. Once more, he laid down to think. He couldn't help but feel… uneasy. Hyrule was safe, Princess Zelda was safe, everyone was safe! So why did he feel like this peace wasn't going to last… Like his entire universe was about to be dissembled, and rearranged…?

Shaking his head to rid him of those strange thoughts, Link wondered how Midna was doing. It had only been a few short weeks since she returned to her realm. Link missed her dearly. He had hoped for some more time with her, but he was grateful that he had even gotten to know her. In the time he had spent with her, Midna had become precious to him.

Before he knew it, Link had fallen asleep. He napped peacefully, his dream-self embarking on exciting and dangerous quests. But instead of being on a mission to protect Hyrule, Link was once again in the Twilight Realm, and he was on an adventure to save his beloved friend, Midna. He faced danger at every turn, but he was relentless, eager to see her again.

Just as his journey was beginning to end, as he was so close to seeing Midna, the dream faded and burst in a shower of light, and snapping open his eyes, our beloved hero was once more in Hyrule. Sighing in defeat , Link groggily got up from his comfortable spot on the soft earth. It was dark now, and billions of beautiful stars decorated the night sky. Link looked at the little dots, his mind going over his odd dream. It had been so life-like, so tangible….

"Oh you silly hero…"

Panic ran cold throughout the hero's body. In an instant he was up and ready, his trusty sword in hand immediately. But what he saw made him drop his weapon in shock.

Ganondorf, the king of evil, was before him. The one he killed, the one he destroyed….here, before him. Recovering quickly, Link grabbed the master sword and braced himself for a fight. Seeing the hero of time do this, Ganon laughed- a deep laugh, but not mocking. Not at all something the Demon Thief would do….

This complete personality transformation was unnerving Link. He couldn't understand anything. It was then that he took in the Prince of Darkness' appearance. Dressed in simple but elegant clothing, Link noticed that he didn't seem to have a weapon on him. None what so ever.

Sensing Link's understandable distrust, Ganon raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'm not here to fight, Hero. Simply to relay a message, and a small token at that. I do believe it would benefit both of us if you were to relax your stance."

Link waited a while, to see if Ganondorf was up to any tricks. This time, however, he seemed not to be. Ever so slowly, Link lowered his sword. He didn't sheath it- no, he didn't trust Ganondorf. Not at all. But he was curious, so curious to know as to what Ganon wanted. So he waited with his trusty weapon in hand.

Link nodded at the man to begin. Ganon looked amused for a moment, before his face grew serious.

"Do you ever wonder, Hero, why it is that you were chosen by the gods?"

The question threw Link off completely. Why would he start off like that? Although, Link admitted, it was true. Many a time his mind wandered to that particular subject, like earlier that very day. But how could Ganondorf had known…?

Ganon's laughter reached Link's ears, shaking him from his thoughts. Frowning at the man, he silently questioned him. Face full of amusement, Ganon decided to tease the Hero a little. "Your pretty face is like an open book, Hero. It doesn't take long to understand what's going on in that blonde head of yours." Ganon ended, taking in the sight of the warrior before him. What he saw made him cry out in booming laughter. Link was red, beat red at what the man had told him. He scowled at Ganon to get him to stop laughing. Eventually the Gerudo quieted, and Link's blush slowly faded.

"Sorry, Hero. It's not often I get to laugh so whole-heartedly. It felt…nice."

Now Link was entirely confused. He gazed at Ganon's face, although the man was now looking up at the stars. He didn't see hatred or a lust for power, as he did when he battled him before. The face before him looked almost peaceful. But with an introduction such as his, Link knew the message wouldn't be the most positive in the world.

Ganon turned to face Link suddenly, startling our hero. A deep, strong gold stared at uncertain cerulean. It was as if the Gerudo was…searching for something. Something that was in reach….but could never be obtained….

"You feel it, don't you, Hero? That…emptiness. Like a piece of you is missing. Like…everything you know is soon to change."

Link could only stare at Ganondorf. How….how could the man had known _that_? The very thing he could help but think about, something that had crept into his mind earlier that very day? Link was put on guard, wondering if the Gerudo could somehow read his mind. He dearly hoped not.

Ganon, understanding what thoughts were flowing in the Hero's mind, proceeded. "You were chosen by the goddesses to defend this land of Hyrule, Hero. That you know. What you don't know is how long you have been doing this. For years and years, a new Hero has been born as the elder one dies. It is fate. For past years and years to come, this cycle will continue. I will always rise up and face you. You will always answer the call and try to defeat me. And Princess Zelda will always be stuck in the middle. I ask you, Hero of Time, are you willing to continue that? Are you willing to be a puppet for fate, nothing more than someone they will mold in their image? You have no future, Hero. Only in your past do you understand your future…never are you to accomplish more with your life, never are you to find love. Soon you too will pass, and the next hero will be born. To be forever stuck in an endless cycle, with your beloved Princess in the middle. Is that what you want, Hero of Time?"

Link stared at Ganon, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe the words spewing out of the Gerudo's mouth… but for some reason, he knew he was speaking the truth. Deep inside, he knew that his life was about to change, and that Ganon, his most hated enemy, was right.

Who would've thought?

The two men stood in silence, the younger still trying to take everything the elder had said in. He understood what the man was saying, but the question now was _why_.

What did the Demon King have to gain from this? If anything, his next self- reincarnation, he told himself, reincarnation- would have no knowledge of this. So what did the man have to gain from all this?

"I can only assume that you are curious as to why I'm giving you this precious information?"

Link blushed slightly and glared at Ganondorf, who was smirking at the Hero. Briefly Link wondered just _how_ much of an open book he was, before nodding seriously at the man. Ganon lost his smirk but just the tiniest hint of amusement was left in his eyes.

"That's a secret, Hero."

The young man's eyes widened for a split second before he resumed his serious expression. But while his outward appearance was that of a serious, no-nonsense warrior, his mind was racing a mile a minute. What was Ganon up to? Link had nothing to gain from this- he just wanted to go home, to live a quiet life! It flashed through his mind that Ganon could be simply joking with him, but the Hero sensed that there truly was a secret behind all of this. Not that Link wanted to know the whole truth; he just wanted to know if it involved him in any way other than just, as Ganon had put it, a "puppet for fate?"

"But of course it involves you, Hero."

Link's eye twitched as he tried not to glare at the laughing thief. He was losing patience with the man, his words and mannerisms becoming confusing for the young hero. But soon as he started, Ganon quit laughing. Once more he faced Link, his eyes making Link uncomfortable, for they seemed to be staring not only into his soul, but into the souls of his past.

It was enough to make even the bravest of heroes nervous.

So spaced out was Link that he almost didn't catch the fact that the Gerudo had begun to speak again. " Hero, there is a reason for everything I do. It is unbecoming for a man such as myself to do things without some form of thought behind it. As many say it, 'living in the moment' is not for me. So naturally, I have a purpose for this little visit."

Link waited for the man to continue with trepidation. He knew whatever he was to tell him wasn't going to be anything he wanted to hear.

"I want to change our fate."

Link's eyes once again widened, but he didn't bother to hide his surprise this time. Didn't Ganon just finish telling him that the course of their lives was the work of the goddesses? Wasn't it foolhardy to go against them like Ganon was most likely suggesting?

Wait- our?

Our young hero glanced at the man with confusion written all over his face. Ganon, however, wasn't looking at him. His focus was back on the stars. For a second Link felt something akin to annoyance- the one time he wanted his emotions displayed for the Demon King to see, he wasn't freakin' paying attention!

Link shook his head, clearing him of his annoyance. He hummed softly, trying to get the man's attention back. It worked, and as the Gerudo glanced at him, he raised an eyebrow. This silent invitation was something Ganon took for a "you were saying?." He chuckled lightly.

"As I'm sure you're now aware of, the beings that control fate are playing with us. I suggest we work together to change this." At Link's skeptical expression, he elaborated. "I'm tired, Hero. Tired of being who I am, of the conditions that I live in, of the ordeals that I must go through to gain power, a power that is always stripped from me. I no longer wish to harm you, or Zelda, or Hyrule. I'm sure you're tired as well. But something leads me to believe that the next life will be more disastrous than those of the past."

Thinking the spoken words over, Link took the time to observe the land around them. Even in the moonlight, everything looked beautiful, looked at peace. Link didn't even want to begin to imagine what kind of destruction Ganon- or any other villain-could cause in the next life. Gazing at the twinkling stars, he tried to ignore the flashes of fire that burned behind his closed eyelids. He tried to force away the bloody and dismembered people that kept crawling into his mind. He could hear the screams of the innocent. He could literally see the disaster that would strike the land.

He also knew that the next Hero wouldn't be able to stop this.

Link looked back at Ganon, searching the right words to say-for any words to say. But before he could, Ganon spoke up. "I know this is a lot to think over, Hero…. I don't want to force you into this, but I truly need your assistance. That's why I've brought a gift for you. Hopefully this will persuade you to join me."

Link raised an eyebrow at Ganon in surprise. The demon thief was going to go this far in order to gain Link's help? He couldn't help but feel as his heart started to sink. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ganon take out a object from his pocket. It was small and silver, and seemed to reflect the moonlight…

A mirror?

Indeed, it was a mirror. The beautiful item looked to be ancient, but had an aura of magic around it. Link was, at first, bewildered as to why Ganondorf would have such a thing on his person, but with the amount of power that radiated off of it, Link understood completely.

"This, Hero, is a gift from me to you. I hope it will do you good, and also persuade you to join me."

With that, Ganon elegantly handed the beautiful mirror to Link, who held it delicately in his hands. He couldn't keep his eyes off of it, and noticed that the marking on this mirror matched that of the Mirror of Twilight…..

Startled, Link looked up to ask Ganon of this revelation, only to find that the Gerudo was already gone. Deciding to ignore that, Link looked back down at the mirror.

' _Could this be another portal to the Twilight Realm….?'_

Link's only answer was a bell-like giggle that he hasn't heard in a while.

"Midna?!"

_**Yay! It's done! I've been working on this for a while, and to be honest, this entire thing is completely different from what I was originally going for. But when the plot bunny arrives, what else can you do? I hope you enjoyed this- it is a prequel to an upcoming story, that may or may not be slash-I'm not entirely sure yet. I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for reading! ^^**_


End file.
